A Question about Gate Keepers

A rep recently sent in a great question that I thought would make for an interesting discussion. Please add your thoughts and comments!

Hi Frank

I'm having a tough time making any headway with cold calling to set up possible appointments with prospects. I've listend to your CD and internalized your Pre-Call mental checklist. I also feel like i've got a pretty good script. My problem is reaching decision-makers at work...classic challenges of voicemail, gatekeeper, etc. When I ask the gatekeeper for best way to approach contact, they generally say email...which is another way of dismissing me and typically not getting through. Any suggestions on the best way to cut to the chase? Thanks!


MY REPLY

Dear X,

Gate-keepers (GKs) are a constant challenge in the world of cold-calling and there are many ways to deal with this issue. The key, in my opinion, is to change the rules of the game.

In the old profession, a gate-keeper was a person to be hated, feared, avoided, and side-stepped. Because of that attitude, some folks would tell you to break through by calling super early or late in the day either before or after the staff people are in. Others said you need to blow past the GK with an extremely authoritative approach or a trick like "I'm calling from my plane...please put him on NOW!"

These old-school techniques might work sometimes...but they made me feel sleazy when I did them and they created a negative relationship environment which no one needs today.

In the modern profession, I prefer a creative approach that allows me to actually build a relationship with the gate-keeper. This is much more fun and relaxing and it differentiates me from the army of strangers contacting his/her boss.

For example, if the prospect warrants it I might start by sending the GK a personal note with a small gift of chocolates, a candy jar, or a Starbucks gift certificate. The note might say something like:

"You must get a hundred calls a week from financial salespeople who want to talk with Mr. Big. It's hard to tell the winners from the losers and the valuable information from the tired sales pitch. We do things a little differently here at the Maselli Group and I hope to convince you of the value of our extraordinary work."

Next week I might send a research report with an empty (but branded) three-ring binder and a note addressed to the GK saying, "I'd really like to share some of our best thinking with Mr. Big. Here's a simple way to keep track of our information that you both might find helpful."

Everything I do is designed to elevate me above the crowd. I might even try to set an appointment with the gate-keeper herself. Stop treating here like a mere obstruction but instead like a valuable partners to the boss. If you ignore, demean, trick or try to intimidate them...not only do you strengthen their defenses and resolve to never put you through, you also demonstrate that you are a heavy-handed sales person who is does not deserve consideration.

Humor is a great tool for breaking down the gate. Send them a video clip of the “Bridge of Death” scene from Monty Python & The Holy Grail. That should get anyone laughing.

I did a brief web search and found an interesting set of ideas from a guy named Craig Harrison. I agree with almost everything he suggests…which means he must be very sharp! Take a look for more gate keeper strategies! http://www.expressionsofexcellence.com/ARTICLES/gatekeepers.htm


You also said that some folks tell you e-mail is the best way to approach the contact. Why is that bad? I will take e-mail all day long! But now you have to send something valuable and interesting that gets my attention. This requires serious thought and creative effort…something the typical financial advisor doesn’t want to do. DON’T BE TYPICAL! Learn how to conduct a professional e-mail campaign. There are many tools for developing a program that will distinguish you and your firm may have certain restrictions on e-mail so I can’t give blanket advice here, but e-mail is a valid marketing tool even in today’s crowded in-box world.

AARP Seminar Guide

Special thanks to John McCloskey for sending this along. It's AARP's guide for financial advisors who want to do seminars witrh seniors. It's filled with a lot of great ideas...many that you should know but need to remind yourself of when working with seniors. For example...using large typeface fonts and keeping your bullet points simple and short; using chairs with arms;

In my book (Seminars: The Emotional Dynamic) we talk a lot about audience comfort. I was at a seminar recently where the room was set up as theater style (chairs only, no tables) and I can't tell you how uncomfortable I was along with many others in the audience. The speaker handed out several items and we were all trying to take notes but it was useless. I finally moved to the back of the room and set myself up at the corner of one of the refreshment tables so I could write.

There was plenty of room and it would have been easy to make everyone a lot more comfortable...but the speaker wasn't thinking of US!

Making your audience comfortable is the first step toward getting them to like you and bond to you. It also says that you care about them. That's a mini-metaphor for your entire relationship!

Any questions...please e-mail me at frank@frankmaselli.com.

One Sit-Up

Jan. 6, 2010

ONE SIT-UP!

Make a very simple 2010 resolution to contact one "new" person each day. Certainly this could be a new prospect, but I'm thinking beyond that. It could also be an old client who left you; a former colleague now at a new firm; a wholesaler you haven't worked with in a while; a local business owner you might want to get to know, etc.

This seemingly simple activity gets your brain juices pumping and sharpens your interpersonal skills. It also gives you a chance to spread your networking roots into a variety of different areas. I think of this as a way to expand your presence in and awareness of your marketplace. You never know what business or ideas can come from this process. It's fast and easy but it's the start of a habit.

One per day may not seem like much, but based on what I'm seeing out there it would be an uptick for most advisors. It's also a safe dosage that will enable you to take small risks that could pay big rewards.

Let's be honest...prospecting is not easy. If it were we would all be superstars. It's much safer to muddle through the day working only with people you know or on admin problems or reading research reports. But in this profession, it is personal interactions that drive your success and also drive a positive mental attitude. If you want to feel energetic, passionate and enthusiastic…DO SOMETHING!

I've joked in many of my meetings about my strict workout regimen. I try to do one good sit-up each day! I know that’s a laugh but it’s also a serious message about goal-setting. Activity goals are your best friends, but set too high they can turn against you. So start low...give me one new contact every day and work up from there.

Free Referral book chapter for download!

Hey folks...Happy New Year! I just love the clean feeling of a fresh start that comes every January. I hope you have a wonderful 2010!

I resolved to do more of this blogging thing which everyone seems to think is a good idea. So let's start off with an invitation to read Chapter 1 of the latest edition of my book Referrals The Professional Way. You can download it free from my website at: http://www.frankmaselli.com/articles-and-downloads.

Learn a new approach to referrals that works with top clients and befits your stature as a valued professional.

Stay tuned for more ideas and tips. And drop me a line with any specific questions. I answer all my e-mails. frank@frankmaselli.com

All the best!

An Industry Re-born!

The Financial Services Industry as we have known it for over 250 years is officially dead! Since the first days under the buttonwood tree in lower Manhattan the industry has existed mainly to serve a small number of wealthy clients and to benefit the brokers, insiders and wheeler-dealers within the clubby fraternity called Wall Street. Those days are over...and thank goodness for it! Or as Mae West said..."Goodness ain't got nothin' to do with it." We've blundered, lied, and cheated ourselves right out of business and it's the best thing that could have happened to us and to our clients because finally we are going to be able to focus only on them!

This re-birth I'm talking about has been gestating for quite a while now. The changes in our industry started roughly two-decades ago when millions of new investors began to get interested in the markets. I would probably point to the start of IRAs as the moment when things began to shift...when investing left the realm of the privileged few and became a mass market activity. Over the past 27 years we've gradually, painfully begun to transition from a business driven by commissions, transactions and slick sales skills to a new profession built on trust, relationships and attentive service. The pain we are feeling now is the final delivery phase. Major firms are merging or going completely out of business. Hundreds of thousands of our colleagues are being laid off. Blood is being spilled on Wall Street in a very real way...and more may yet come. Out of all this anguish, however, is a bright new future.

The new Financial Services Industry will be simpler, cleaner and more responsive to clients. You see, the need for advice has not gone away. If anything it's even greater now than ever before. Americans are desperate for financial help but instead of fancy products and arcane investment crap that dazzles as it destroys assets...they need us to listen, tell them the whole truth and be a calming force when emotions run high. That's what the best advisors of the future will know how to do.

For some of you this may require new skills. We've wasted so much time, decades focused on the technology of money management and look where it's gotten us! Now lets spend some serious effort learning about people...how to help them think about their futures, how to guide them through life's most difficult decisions, many of which seem to involve money but even others that don't. Many of us have figured out the "financial" part of our title...now it's time to master the "advisor" part as well.

This new industry may not work for all of you. Some of us are mired in the old ways and we will cling to what we know even as the profession evolves beyond us. You still see it in the media. We are told that to succeed we all need to be hyper-active traders who can parse the second-by-second moves in a wildly gyrating market. Frankly, one of the best things the new Obama administration could do for investors is to outlaw CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business news. I'm not blaming the market's meltdown on the media...but I swear to you, in their own insideous way, these bastards are killing us. Their constant drumbeat of fear, controversy and sound-bite stupidity undermines the very fabric of investing. Don't get me started!

So as we begin this new year, let's look backward briefly to bid farewell to an old, worn out industry that collapsed under it's own greed and short-sightedness. Let it go! It's better off dead and we are well rid of it. The future belongs to the professionals who take the best care of their clients and to the companies that support and nurture their advisors in a non-sales, zero-hype, people-centered way. New metrics of success involving emotional maturity, client interviewing and psychological awareness may be needed...no problem. We will see new models for team-building, firm management, concept wholesaling, and training. Comp may go down across the board for a while until the new winners begin to differentiate themselves from the crowd. It's all part of the re-birth process...but the good news is that this baby is beautiful and it's all ours! I already love it.

Happy New Year!

Good morning!

Thanksgiving has passed into gastronomic memory and I'm busy uploading some new workbooks sheets to the website. Check them out when you have time. They're part of my new training program "An Industry Reborn" and should help you.
Got here: http://www.frankmaselli.com/articles-and-downloads

More on the way...the need for help right now is mind-boggling. BTW, how did you like that BusinessWeek cover and main article on "Wall Street vs. America"? Can you even believe the tone these days? Every major firm has to be thinking of spinning off their Broker/Dealer/Advisory division.

It's like that guy who got stuck in the rock while mountain climbing. He waited as long as he could then he had to hack off his own arm with a pocket knife to escape death. Advisors need to break free of this insane "Trash Wall Street" mob mentality. We didn't do it...but we are being dragged down with the people who did. And even worse...they are anonymous, while we remain the public face of these companies. Lord...please put me in charge of this industry for one year...I will clean it up!

Yeah...good luck with that.

Later...

Frank

Instrument Flying

Back in flight school, my instructor told me “Your body will lie to you…don’t trust it!” When you think you’re flying straight and level…you could actually be in a slow spiraling downward dive…or even upside down…and never know it by looking outside the plane or by how you feel internally. This can kill you very quickly and you need to learn to trust your instruments.

I want to believe we are in a recovery. My emotional equilibrium is telling me that we are at historic buying levels and I should be bullish. I want to tell you that I see the end of the nightmare and your business is on its way back. But every time I look at the instruments they are saying the storm is not over for our economy nor for our industry.

In every meeting I do, I ask my audience the same question, “How many of you can’t wait to leverage yourselves up and start spending more money?” CRICKETS! “Now, how many of you are looking for ways to cut back, reduce spending, do more with less, stretch your car for another year, save more, reduce your debt and your consumption?” EVERYONE! I realize this is an unscientific poll, but any economic scenario that is based on the cheerful return of the consumer is, in my opinion, a non-starter and a dead-wrong strategy.

There are many speakers out there on the circuit singing “Happy Days are Here Again” and I think they’re letting their body lie to them. They are allowing an all-too-recent memory of past market declines tell them that when it goes down it must come back up. If they have any experience at all…they may remember the Crash of 1987 which ranks up there with Y2K as the great non-event. This is a different world. What I’m seeing is a continued downward slide and a depressing market environment for some time. I think smart professionals must build this scenario into their business model. Even if I’m 180 degrees off…it’s still a smarter way to help people.

You Don’t Need to Be a Bull to Grow! The days of the cheerleader advisor are over. Clients today are not looking for a Pollyanna happy face and a perpetually rosy outlook. They want realism, honesty and a savvy leader who can get them to their goals no matter what the market environment. That can be you, but you have to stop cowering in the corner, praying for the end of the storm. Learn to love the storm!

This means new investment strategies, new marketing approaches that brand you as a realist and a serious, caring professional, and new ways to talk with clients honestly about their future and the changes required to get them home safely. It means action and hard work…not sitting around thinking about what to do. Get moving again…and watch what happens to your attitude and your business.

The image that pops into my mind when I think of the ideal advisor in today’s world is Gene Hackman’s character Reverend Scott in the Poseidon Adventure.

He quickly accepted the reality of the upturned world and he recognized the tremendous change of thinking that was necessary to survive. The “experts” said he was wrong but he stuck to his guns with passion, logic and determination. He tried to convince people to join him but he didn’t waste too much time arguing with the un-savable. He knew that quick action was essential and that apathy would end in death. He used all his resources (like Ernest Borgnine and Shelly Winters) and improvised when necessary. Ultimately he led his small flock to safety. And if you forgo the typical Hollywood ending…he did a damn good job for his people.

Folks…this ship is under water and likely to stay there for a while longer yet. The consumer is down for the count. The government has shocked the economy with about 3 trillion volts and it ain’t moving off the table. When the false glow from an overly optimistic “stress test” wears off (bend down, touch your toes) we might find that we’re in deeper trouble than we think. Get your people up to the engine room and out to fresh air. Be as bold and creative as you can be. This is a time when leaders are made!